According to IOL - A building well known to ‘Capetonians’ now ranks among the country’s best businesses.

The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) has just been awarded the Top500 title of South Africa’s best managed companies.

The Top500 research method was developed with the help of UCT’s Development Policy Research Unit. It examines companies based on three factors – financial performance, empowerment and policy and accreditation.

The method identifies the top five companies from each of 100 different business sectors. The CTICC not only made the list, but came first in the exhibition and conference facilities category.

The convention centre is home to the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, business conferences, trade shows and more.

Since its opening in 2003, the CTICC has created 91,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Top500 award comes after its most successful year.

During the 2014-2015 financial year, the centre added R3,4bn to South Africa’s GDP and R3,1bn to the Western Cape’s gross geographic product.

Of last year’s earnings, 28% were from female-owned companies, 67% were from small and medium-sized businesses, 90% were from companies locally based and 86% were from broad-based black economic empowerment companies.

The B-BBEE (BEE) accreditation was launched by the government in 2004 to address challenges black people face regarding equal economic participation.

A company’s BEE score is based on the seven factors ranging from black ownership and management to skills training and socio-economic development.

The CTICC’s high percentage of BEE clients and its percentages of small, female-owned and local clients contributed to its success in the empowerment sphere of the Top500 judging.

It is currently expanding its existing building to include the new CTICC East facility, which has a budget of R832m.

“The CTICC expansion project will be the catalyst for the CTICC’s ongoing contribution to skills development in the city, province and country, making it an African trade and investment destination of choice.

“This is especially important in the light of the increased investment into the African continent positioning it as the ‘next big thing’ in business,” said Ellingson.

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It’s mostly about building up supply chains.

U.S. drug giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ0.43%) is expanding its business and R&D presence in Africa, a key emerging market that the company believes will buttress sales of its medications over time.

On Wednesday, J&J cut the ribbon on a new Cape Town, South Africa office as part of a new global public health unit. While part of the Africa initiative is meant to boost development and distribution of drugs for diseases which disproportionately afflict people in Africa, including HIV/AIDS treatments, CEO Alex Gorsky told the 'Wall Street Journal' that there’s also a clear strategic angle to the move.

“Part of it is building those kinds of relationships, those kinds of capabilities that over the long term are going to result in a very significant market opportunity for us,” he said.

That means working with both government and non-governmental organizations to build out the drug supply chain. For instance, Johnson & Johnson will increase drug distribution to local clinics and healthcare practitioners, and train them in fundamentals such as proper medication storage and medical testing.

The company plans to create more offices like the new South Africa installation in countries like Ghana and Kenya.

In 2015, J&J’s infectious disease unit brought in more than US$3,5bn in worldwide sales. The firm is developing several new medications in the space, including a long-acting HIV injectable drug that it’s working on alongside rival ViiV Healthcare, an AIDS therapy joint effort by GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer (PFE5.01%).

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A new co-working office space, Work & Co, has opened its doors in Cape Town. Work & Co will host a community of entrepreneurs, creatives, small and medium sized enterprises, remote teams and freelancer and aims to, through connecting people, enable serendipitous growth.

Work & Co is the brainchild of French born Julien Verspieren. Julien sold his business in France in 2014, packed up and moved to Cape Town. In France, he was the founder of a recruitment company, and with another partner, grew their staff from two people to 160 people in the space of fourteen years.

As a successful entrepreneur, Julien is an expert in business development and enjoys the excitement and energy that accompany new ventures. Launching Work & Co is his latest creative venture.

“I experienced the way that co-working spaces have taken off not just in South Africa, but globally and how they are creating and supporting a new way to work,” says Julien Verspieren.

“In Work & Co I wanted to create a unique 2,000 m2 space that people could draw inspiration from, interconnect through the latest technologies and grow their businesses. It combines the buzz of a coffee shop with the comforts of the most beautiful home, bringing a community of passionate entrepreneurs and creatives, working together under one roof. Work & Co is all about people”, she added.

In the heart of Cape Town’s city bowl, Work & Co is located in Touchstone House on trendy Bree Street, with panoramic 360° views of the city.

The interiors were designed by top Cape Town-based international designer, Andrea Graff, who combines vibrant colours with classic and modern pieces. These pieces add to the natural light and beauty of the space and make it a place for entrepreneurs to to feel at home, while the art surrounding the workspace (Julien’s other passion) enhances the creativity in the space.

"The co-working office space we have created reflects my belief that a work environment should be comfortable and congenial, enriching the user experience. We have brought in elements that make it feel lived in and established, layered and inspirational. It is like no other co-working office space in the country, it really pushes the boundaries, incorporating the work of some of South Africa's best artists, designers and artisans,” she explains.

Work & Co offers a number of different solutions for entrepreneurs and businesses of all shapes and sizes; Hot desks that can be rented per day, a shared office space area, all the way to private offices that can accommodate up to 15 people. Work & Co offers members a network and the infrastructure; meeting rooms, high-speed and reliable fibre optic internet, Uninterrupted Power Supply, printing stations, a receptionist, installed landlines and full time IT support, that businesses need to propel their growth. The philosophy being to allow members to focus on their business and Work & Co will take care of the rest.

On 15 March 2016 a team of 20 people from Engen’s Corporate Affairs division and affiliated agencies – Magna Carta, PHD and Posterscope – collaborated to transform the Freedom No. 2 Tuck Shop in Nyanga, Cape Town.

“Lend a hand, Change a Life.” That is the motto of Life Changers Foundation, a Cape Town-based non-profit organisation dedicated to getting people substance-free, self- sustainable, skilled, educated and reconciled with families to become role models to a society that once rejected them.

Royal Philips, a lighting company, recently unveiled a stunning lighting makeover of the historic and iconic Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town at the conclusion of its fifth consecutive pan-African Cairo to Cape Town roadshow.

TomTom (TOM2), a global leader in traffic, today published its 4th annual global traffic index for 2013. The results revealed that Cape Town is now the most congested city in South Africa, surpassing Johannesburg which was the most congested city in 2012.

TomTom’s traffic data also showed that traffic congestion on secondary roads is worse than main roads, and commuters are spending an unbelievable average of 10 working days a year stuck in traffic. This is creating a new set of challenges for local authorities looking for solutions to the increasing traffic problem.